Passing it on: EMT students mentor Juvenes Translatores contestants

By Chiara Gambelli, Bluebook Trainee at DGT and Anna Wasil (interviewee), University of Warsaw.

Sharing knowledge is one of the best ways to spread information, but most importantly to spark interest in fields and career paths that are not widely known. It also opens doors for younger students and helps them discover new possibilities for their future.

For the second year running, EMT students mentored participants in the Juvenes Translatores school translation contest on pursuing translation-related careers. DG Translation invites EMT students to the Translating Europe Forum in November to represent the network. This comes with the commitment that they will, in return, mentor school students who have received a special mention in Juvenes Translatores. Following their commitment, in this edition, 27 EMT students came together with 73 Juvenes Translatores contestants who received special mentions for their outstanding translations – putting them in the top 10%. Over 40 sessions were prepared by EMT students, with the project managed by Myriam Besson, administrative assistant in DG Translation. 

One of the mentors this year was Anna Wasil, who studies applied linguistics and law at the EMT member, the University of Warsaw. She organised two online sessions (one in English and one in Polish) focused on translation and law. ‘I wanted this session to be inspiring and fruitful and everyone in the room to have the feeling that they were seen and noticed,’ Anna says. 

She was struck by the students’ openness and how willing they were to ask questions and engage in discussion. One of the most memorable aspects for her was feeling that the meeting was a safe place, with no language barriers. ‘This enabled us to exchange our experiences with such ease!’ 

Anna Wasil

After this experience, Anna would be happy to take on a mentoring role again in the future. ‘People don’t judge you for a lack of knowledge or language skills, they judge you for a lack of passion.’ And it is exactly this sense of passion that the student mentors wish to inspire.

Her advice for future mentors is simple: ‘don’t expect too much in advance, but allow yourself to be surprised and inspired by the students ’. Anna also has a tip for future Juvenes Translatores participants: ‘Don’t rush the decision. Build skills, not just plans. Keep options open.’ 

Anna shared how valuable the experience was for her personally – not only the sessions themselves, but also the chance to build connections with fellow EMT students, organisers, Juvenes Translatores participants and European Commission trainees when she was invited along with her fellow EMT students to the Translating Europe Forum 2025 in Brussels. 

Beyond the individual sessions, the project shows how important mentoring can be in making academic and career paths feel more accessible. For many younger students, meeting someone who is already studying in a field such as translation or applied linguistics can make related careers more concrete and achievable. And for mentors it’s a chance to reflect on their own experiences and engage with curious students.

This is what makes the EMT mentoring project so valuable: it is formative, enjoyable and insightful – for both sides. Students get support, encouragement and a chance to learn about career opportunities, while mentors learn by sharing and connecting with others. Then, it comes naturally: in a cool ambiance and a multilingual setting both the mentors and the mentees talk about what inspires them expressing their concerns, aspirations and learning motivation.

More than simply passing knowledge on, the project creates a meaningful exchange that benefits everyone involved and raises awareness of careers in translation and in the modern truly interdisciplinary landscape of translation studies.